Paul Gillebaard - USSR Hoax

With a distraught look, Chris turned. “You know all of the astronauts are constantly being put into tempting situations. Sometimes even the most loving husband slips.”

Anne couldn’t believe what he was implying. She tried to keep her emotions in check. “Are you saying Tom has had an affair?”

Gently taking her hand, Chris said with a sad sigh. “I shouldn’t be telling you this because it’s breaking an unwritten code among the astronauts, but I care about you. Yes, Tom is cheating.”

Anne pushed him away, the blood rushing in her ears. “No way! Not my Tom.”

With conviction, Chris said, “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw Tom all over an attractive young blonde that he escorted into his hotel room.”

“You saw him take a girl into his room?”

“I did, this weekend. My room was right across the hall. He even flashed me a thumbs up sign before walking in.”

Anne felt like she just had her heart ripped out. Stunned by the shocking news, she covered her face with her hands. This can’t be right.

The soothing touch of Chris’s arms wrapping around her was comforting. He said in caring tone, “I’m so sorry.”

Mixed emotions flowed through Anne as she did her best to stay strong. This is crazy. Tom has never shown any sign of not being happy with me or our marriage.

Chris caressed Anne’s arms as her eyes welled up. She lightly dabbed under her eyes before removing her hands. She was surprised to see Chris just inches from her face. He tenderly touched her cheek, wiping away a tear. “You are such a beautiful woman.”

Trying to stay composed, Anne opened herself up for a comforting hug, but instead the unthinkable happened. Chris slowly leaned in and gently placed his lips to hers. The lingering kiss confused her momentarily as her body responded to the pleasant sensation. She hesitated for a second before realizing what she was doing. She planted both hands hard against his chest and pushed him away before quickly gathering herself. “I’m so sorry, Chris, but I have to go.” She hastily seized the blue box before jumping off the barstool.

Chris caught her arm before she could get away. “Let me escort you to your car.”

She turned. “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

His grip tightened. “Anne, don’t tell Tom what I told you. He can ruin me. I’m the only one who saw him enter that room, but many saw him in the bar with that girl.”

She peeled his fingers off her arm. “I promise I won’t divulge where I got the information, but thank you for telling me.”

She hurried toward the door as she called out in a trembling voice, “Again, thanks for the toy.” Without turning she ran out the door and to her car. She tossed the box onto the passenger seat and collapsed on the steering wheel, heart pounding. Did Chris invite me to his apartment for the sole purpose of making a pass? If so, how true could his story be? Even if Tom took a woman into his hotel room, that doesn’t mean anything happened. Not wanting to believe the worst, Anne said a short prayer, holding out hope.

With his mind elsewhere, Tom walked through his empty house, still mulling over if he should take on the dangerous operation Dick just offered him. When he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to see no evidence of dinner being prepared. That’s odd. He called out, “Anyone home?”

A squeaky voice penetrated in through the kitchen entry-way. “Daddy, Daddy.”

Tom turned to see his exuberant four-year-old son racing toward him across the linoleum floor. Tom knelt, opening his arms wide to catch his beaming boy. When Peter was inches away he launched himself. Tom snagged his son in midair, before twirling around, lifting the boy high above his head. “How’s my little astronaut?”

“Good, Daddy.”

Tom expected to see Anne behind Peter, instead he saw only their dog, Dino, running in. The beagle started barking at his treat jar on the kitchen counter. Tom set Peter down. “Where’s Mommy?”

Peter pointed out the door toward the backyard. “She’s outside.”

Tom assumed Anne must be working in the yard. “Well let’s go see her.”

“Okay!”

Tom smiled when his son grabbed his hand and led him through the kitchen. Tom shouted toward his dog. “Come on, Dino! No food right now.”

The dog eagerly followed as Peter led Tom toward the sliding glass door. The curtain was open and Tom could see Anne sitting outside in one of the lounge chairs facing the back fence, smoking a cigarette. The early evening sun was setting, casting a long shadow over the backyard. After Tom slid the door open, both Peter and Dino jetted out. Tom expected the ruckus to cause Anne to turn around, but she didn’t move. As he approached he noticed the ashtray on the small glass table was filled with cigarette butts. Curious what was up, he bent down to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. “Hello, honey.”

Uncharacteristically, Anne turned away before his lips could touch her skin. Confused and seeing red blotches on her face, Tom placed a reassuring hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

Anne didn’t budge or say a word. Peter was playing with his truck in the middle of the yard, unaware of what was going on while Dino chewed on a bone by his side. Tom gently turned his wife’s face toward his. He was surprised to see her eyes were red, bloodshot and puffy, an obvious sign she’d been crying. “Anne, what’s the matter?”

Surprisingly, Anne’s voice was filled with anger as she fiercely jammed her half-finished cigarette into the ashtray. “You know why I’m upset.”

Tom raised an eyebrow. He had no idea what could be bothering his wife. He sat on the other lounge chair across from her, dumbfounded. “No, I don’t. Why are you?”

Anne turned away, folding her arms. “Yes you do.”

Tom didn’t want to play twenty questions. “Honey, I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have a lot on my mind and I’m in no mood to play games. What’s bothering you?”

Anne turned back with fire in her eyes. “You’re right, let’s don’t play games. Why don’t you tell me why I’m so damn mad? What did you do lately that would hurt me?”

Tom was starting to worry she might be talking about the blonde in Cocoa Beach. “I need some help.”

Anne started waggling her finger at him. “Really? Think hard, and keep in mind wives talk. So you sit there and think a moment. I expect you to be up front with me on something that happened over the weekend that would break my heart.”

Flipping through a rolodex of events in his mind, the only thing Tom could come up with that could possibly upset Anne was having drinks with Connie. Assuming one of the astronauts must have slipped and told his wife, Tom had no choice but to come clean about that evening. The question was, how much should he admit, especially since nothing really happened. Only Chris knew that Connie was in his hotel room, and the odds were slim the bachelor told his ex-wife. So Anne only knew he had drinks with the girl. Tom had to make a gut decision whether he should be fully open or not. This time he listened to the angel on his shoulder.

“While at the Cape, I did have some drinks with a girl. A bunch of us guys were hanging out at the hotel bar and a few ladies joined us. One thing led to another, and I ended up sitting with this one particular girl.”

Anne looked him straight in the eyes. “I’m all ears. Go on.”

“Well, nothing happened.” Set on telling her the truth, Tom took in a deep breath before continuing. “Although I did eventually take her to my room.”

Surprisingly, the news didn’t shock Anne. Instead she just rolled her eyes. “You took this girl to your room, and nothing happened? Come on, Tom, that’s pretty hard to believe.”